Preparing For Baby!

So I'm still here...no baby yet. Some of you were probably starting to wonder, with the lack of my posting and all. I have been busy getting ready for the new baby. Last week was spent deep-cleaning every nook and cranny of my house and it seems that this week will be spent re-cleaning everything that I cleaned last week. My kids just don't understand that I want the house to be spotless when we leave for the hospital! (I have major issues with coming home to a dirty house!) Anyway, I saw the doctor yesterday and it turns out that I'm already dilated to a two and she thinks by 38 weeks the baby will be here. I'm really hoping that he/she comes on his/her own by then so that poor Drew doesn't have to share his birthday or worse yet, spend it at the hospital with us! I will not be doing my usual shopping this week as I am super-stocked up and all I really need is some random items for our 4th of July party. Make sure to check out Hy-Vee and Fareway tomorrow as I'm sure they'll have some great last minute deals for the holiday weekend! Oh- and get in on the cheap Edy's ice cream at Target this week! I grabbed some yesterday and it is YUMMY! Good luck on your weekly deals and have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Shopping with No Kids = EASY!!!

Grandma had the kids yesterday while I went to my doctor's appointment, so I decided to take advantage of the situation and get some shopping done at Target. Did you know that in less than an hour you can fill your cart up twice and still have time to spare? It was pretty awesome to just go in and get what I needed - no potty breaks, no slushie spills, no melt-downs over who gets to push the cart, no "Can I have this?" Just me, a cart full of deals and a binder full of coupons....ahhhh....so SIMPLE!!! Check out my three super-speedy transactions below!

Target:
Transaction #1:
3- Pull Ups, $8.99
-used (3) $3/1 printables, IE or Firefox
3- Huggies Diapers, $8.99
-used (2) $3/1 MFC
-used (1) $2/1 printable
Total= $36.94, Got (2) $5 Target Gift Cards
(Will send in for Caregivers Marketplace Rebate and get $4.50 back, making these just $3.58 each!)

Transaction #2:
15- Pepsi product 12 pks., $2.75 each
-used (15) $1/1 Target coupons
1- can deposit, $9.00
Total= $37.09, paid $27.09 cash, and $10 in Target gift cards

Transaction #3:
6- Wheat Thins, $2.00
-used (6) $2/1 peelies (makes these FREE!)
5- Crystal Light, $2.66
-used (5) $1/1 printables
1- Crystal Lt. Skin Essentials, $2.66
-used (1) FREE printable (FREE!)
4- Joint Juice, $.99
-used (2) B1G1 Free MFC
-used (2) $1/1 printables (makes these FREE!)
2- Kraft Dressing, $1.99
-used (2) $1/1 printables
-used (2) $1/1 Target coupons (FREE!)
2- Kraft Mayo, $1.99
-used (2) $1/1 printables
-used (2) $1/1 Target coupons (FREE!)
2- Kraft Miracle Whip, $2.99
-used (2) $1/1 printables
-used (2) $1/1 Target coupons ($.99 each!)
2- wheat bread, $1.39
-used (2) $1/1 bread wyb Miracle Whip peelies ($.39 each!)
2- marshmallows, $.92
3- Driscoll's strawberries, $1.99
-used (3) $1/1 Target coupons ($.99 each!)
2- Ziploc bags, $2.49
-used(1) B1G1 Free MFC
-used (2) $1/1 Target coupons ($.25 each!)
Total before coupons= $63.39
Total after coupons= $18.26

Fun Friday Shopping Trip

The kids and I headed out early today for a quick (yeah right!) shopping trip. We only had three stores to stop at but do you think that we could get home by nap time? For some reason it still took us six hours! Well, we did stop and have a picnic lunch with daddy on the UNI campus at his job site and the kids loved watching the PCI excavator scoop up dirt and load up the trucks. I guess too that because it feels like this baby is just going to fall out at times, I was not exactly moving at a very fast pace. All in all we had a pretty good day and got some pretty good deals. I was also $17 under budget for the week meaning that over the last two weeks I only spent $93 for a family of five with two in diapers! Not too shabby if you ask me! Here is what we got today:

Target:
Transaction #1:
2- Softsoap refills, $6.00 each
-used (2) $2/1 printables
-used (2) $2/1 Target coupons
Paid $4.00, Got $5 Target Gift Card (a $1 money maker!)

Transaction #2
2- Snickers, $.64
-used (2) FREE coupons from mail
9 - Wheat Thins $2.04
-used (9) $2/1 MFC peelies found at Hy-Vee
9 - Crystal Light, 3pk. by registers, $.99
-used (9) $1/1 printable coupon here, here, or here
4 - Joint Juice, $.99
-used (2) B1G1 Free printables
-used (2) $1/1 printable
1- Strawberry Jam, $1.89
1- Kraft Mayo, $1.99
-used (1) $1/1 printable (this one may be gone, sorry!)
-used (1) $1/1 Target coupon
4 - 12 pk. Pepsi products, $3.66
-used (4) $1/1 Target coupons
1 - can deposit, $2.40
2- Ziploc quart bags, $2.49
-used (1) B1G1 Free MFC
-used (2) $1/1 Target coupons (makes these $.25 a box!)
2- Ziploc sandwich bags, $2.29
-used (1) $1/2 MFC
-used (2) $1/1 Target coupons (makes these $.79 a box!)
2- Dollar items from the dollar aisle for Macy and Drew
1- Wedding card, $.99
Total before coupons = $68.24
Total after coupons and $5 gift card= $17.49

CVS:
Transaction #1:
2- Dawn dish liquid, $2/2
-used (2) $.50/1 MFC
1- Bayer Glucose Meter, $14.99
-used (1) $14.99/1 MFC
Total paid= $1.14, Got $5 ECB from meter and $1 ECB from dish soap (made $4.86!)

Transaction #2:
2- Dawn dish liquid, $2/2
-used (2) $.25/1 MFC
4- bedding flowers, $1 each
1- Cherry tomato plants, $.50
1- Bayer Glucose Meter, $14.99
-used (1) $14.99/1 MFC
5- Gallons skim milk
-used (5) $.55/1 printables
-Used (1) $10/$30 CVS coupon
Total paid= $6.45, Got $5 ECB from meter and $1 ECB from dish soap
*I now have $14 in ECBs to use next week! Yippee!

Hooray for Milk Coupons!

Register HERE to get some printable Robert’s Dairy coupons. It appears that you can print as many of these as you want! Yippee!

*Thanks to The Thrifty Mama for posting this new coupon!

Target Freebies!

I am very excited to see that there are lots of Target freebies this week! The last couple of weeks have been kind of slow, so it is great to see some fantastic deals again! Thanks to Money Saving Mom for putting these deals together! You can see her complete Target list here.

Through July 13, 2009, there's a sweet Softsoap deal going on at Target: Buy 2 Softsoap value packs and get a $5 Target gift card.
Here's how to get these for free:
Buy 2 Softsoap Ensemble Value Packs at $6 each
Use 2 $2/1 manufacturer's coupons here
Stack with 2 $2/1 Target coupons here
Spend $4 plus tax out of pocket, Get a $5 Target gift card
Remember, you can roll these deals--using the gift card earned from the previous transaction to purchase another two Softsoaps to earn another gift card--thus lowering your out-of-pocket costs even more.

Degree men's deodorant (Artic Edge and Intense Sport)--$2.49
Use the $1.50/1 Target printable coupon here
Stack with the $1/1 manufacturer's coupon from the 5/17 RedPlum insert
Free after coupons

Crystal Light On-The-Go 3-packs--$0.99
Use the $1/1 coupon here, here, or here (sign up or login and then click on the "coupons" tab)Free after coupon

Joint Juice (single serve bottles)--$1
Buy 2 and use B1G1 coupon and $1/1 coupon here or from the 4/26 SmartSource insert
Get two free after coupons

Kraft Mayo--$1.99Use $1/1 from the 4/26 inserts or $1/1 printables here and here
Stack with $1/1 Target printable here
Free after coupons

Coppertone Suncare Product (trial size)--$0.99
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon

Banana Boat Sunscreen (trial size)--$0.99
Use $1/1 in 5/3 SmartSource insert
Free after coupon

Hefty HandySaks Small Trash Bags (trial size pack)--$0.99
Use $1/1 Target printable here
Free after coupon

Aquafresh Toothpaste--$1.99
Use $1/1 Target printable here
Stack with $1/1 here
Free after coupons

Johnson's Soap Buddies--$1
Use $1/1 coupon from the 3/8 or 4/26 RedPlum insert or buy 3 and use $3/3 coupon here--IE or Firefox
Free after coupon

Ziploc Bags--$2.49Buy 2 and use B1G1 coupon from 5/3 SmartSource insert
Plus, use $0.40/1 any Ziploc bag from 5/10 SmartSource insert
Stack with 2 $1/1 Target coupons
$0.05 per box after coupons

A1 Steak Sauce--$2.09
Use $2/1 from the 5/10 SmartSource insert or here
$0.09 after coupon

Kashi Frozen Waffles--on price cut at many stores for $1.79
Use $1.50/1 here or here
$0.29 each after coupon

Shopping Trip - 6/3/09

My first stop today was Walgreens. I wanted to see if they had any of the great clearance items that I have been reading about on the different blogs and forums. Unfortunately I did not find much of what I was looking for but I was able to get in on a couple of great deals while I was there. Next stop was CVS (also to look for some clearance deals). I had to bite the bullet and buy ridiculously expensive tin foil ($3.75 for this stuff!) and picked up a few other things that we needed. Last stop was Fareway and maybe it was the smell or maybe the pregnancy cravings kicking in or maybe the fact that it was so cheap, but I just couldn't pass up the cheap bread and buns that I found so I think we should be stocked up for a few weeks at least! Mmmmm.....I love bread! (I think that I am only so crazy about bread right now becuase my doctor suggested that I cut back on carbs for the remainder of my pregnancy. What we can't have we always want, right?) Anyway, you can see what I got below.

Walgreens:
1- Revlon Hair Dryer, $12.99 on sale
-got back a $10 RR (makes the hair dryer $2.99!)
4- Skim milk, $2.27
2- Cottonelle 4 packs, $1.99 (this was only at the C.F. store)
-used (2) $1/1 MFC
1- Ecotrin asprin, $2.00
-used (1) $2/1 MFC
-got back a $2 RR
1- Dove face soap,$.99
-used (1) $1/1 MFC

*I did the hair dryer first in a separate transaction so then I used my $10 RR from that to pay for the rest of the purchases.
Total before coupons and RR= $30.44
Total after coupons and RR= $13.44 (not bad for a hair dryer, t.p. and a week's worth of milk!)

CVS:
1- Cover Girl Mascara, $3.49 on sale 50% off
1- Coppertone Sunscreen, $8.99
-used (1) $3/1 printable
1- Glad cling wrap, $.75 on clearance
2- Reynolds foil, $3.74
-used (1) $.75/1 MFC
1- Johnson's first aid kit, $.99
-used (1) $1/1 MFC
-used $4 off $20 purchase CVS coupon

Total before coupons= $22.64
Total after coupons= $14.20

Fareway:
1- Tootsie Pops bag, $1.99 (I don't like rewarding my kids for bad behavior, but Levi and Drew were slapping each other in the face in their race car cart. I had to spare the other shoppers and think of a way to quiet them up FAST!)
2- cottage cheese, $.99
10- wheat cottage bread, $.99
1- hot dog buns, $.99
4- hamburger buns, 12 ct., $.89 on sale (this is a great price!)
2- Chinet plates, $2.59
-used (2) $2/1 MFC (thanks to Cortney for the heads up on this one!)
1- Dole bag lettuce, $.69 (great price!)
2 - cartons of strawberries at $.99/lb = $3.62
Total spent = $24.41

Walgreens Hair Dryer Deal - Just $2.99!

Right now, Walgreens has an awesome Register Reward deal going on -- you can purchase any Revlon Hair Dryer or Straightener for $19.99 (advertised sale price). You will then earn $10 Register Rewards (remember, these are the coupons that print out after you have paid--you can use it on your next purchase). This would make these $9.99.

However, even better, the Revlon Ionic Styler Dryer (1875 Watt or Travel) is reported to be on a clearance sale of $12.99 - you will still earn your $10 Register Rewards = $2.99 for the hair dryer!! You can't beat that price!!

Thanks to Thrifty Northwest Mom for posting this amazing deal! My hair dryer is back from the good old high school days, so I just know that it doesn't have much life left to it. I picked up one of these today in Cedar Falls and they had several left. Seriously... $2.99 for a hair dryer...is that a great deal or what?!?!?

More FREE Johnson's Buddies Soaps!

The awesome Johnson's coupon is back for $3 off any 3 Johnson's products!! This means that you can get a total of 6 Johnson's Buddies Soap bars (print it twice by hitting the back arrow and refresh). Johnson's Buddies soaps are typically under $1 at Target or Walmart and often other places like the drugstores or grocery stores as well! They are great for little kids as they have a mesh type of covering around them so that the soap doesn't slip from their hands. I stocked up on a ton a few months ago, but you can never have too much soap--and if we do, then it's a great item to donate to somewhere like a domestic violence shelter for women and their children.
Go here for the coupon!!

Thanks Thrifty Northwest Mom for posting this new coupon!!

Hooray for Wednesday!

I've got some good news: It looks like Hy-Vee and Fareway both have some pretty good deals going on this week! Go here to view the Fareway ad and here to check out Hy-Vee's ad.
This is just a small list of the great deals that I found:

Hy-Vee:
red grapes, $.99/lb.
Hy-Vee pasta, $.88
Jiff peanut butter, $1.88
Dole lettuce, $.69
Nature's Pride Bread, $2.99, B1G1 Free
Oscar Meyer Bologna, 4 for $5
Bananas, $.39/lb.
Kraft shredded cheese, 2/$5
Hy-Vee sour cream 16 oz., $.89
English muffins 12 ct., $1.59

Fareway:
cottage bread, $.99
cottage cheese, $.99
strawberries, $.99
bag lettuce, $.69
hamburger and hot dog buns, $.88

What great deals do you see going on this week?